Deck 12: Heroes at War: The Troy Saga

Question 1

Hector believes that the Trojan War was fought for a just cause.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

The Iliad and the Odyssey may have been written or edited by different poets.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

According to Homer, humans have, in a limited sense, freedom to act but must bear the responsibility of their actions.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

The Homeric gods have complete power over human destinies.

Question 5

Zeus invites all the gods and goddesses to the wedding except Aphrodite, the goddess of love.

Question 6

Thetis tries to immortalize her son Achilles by dipping him in the waters of the Nile, holding him by his heel.

Question 7

Diomedes is the image of a moderate hero.

Question 8

Greek myths are essentially closed-ended, having a beginning, a middle, and an ending.

Question 9

Achilles has two possible fates: a long life in obscurity or a short, brilliant one in battle.

Question 10

The gods take sides: Apollo, Artemis, and Aphrodite side with the Greeks; Hera, Poseidon, and Athene favor the Trojans.

Question 11

Paris gives the apple to Aphrodite in exchange for her love.

Question 12

Archaeological evidence attests that a large force of Greeks attacked Troy II in about 1250 b.c.

Question 13

The heroes of the Iliad are divided beings; their primary need is to be social beings, because it is their nature, which means they must violate their needs as warriors.

Question 14

Zeus has arranged a wedding between Thetis, a minor sea goddess, and a mortal man, Peleus; at this wedding, problems arise that will result in the Trojan War.

Question 15

Helen was exceedingly beautiful because she was the daughter of Zeus.

Question 16

The Trojan War opens with Zeus's divine approval.

Question 17

Although the exact nature of the conflict is not at all clear, it does seem that the Iliad has at least some historical basis.

Question 18

Contrary to the myth, the epic is rooted in human time.

Question 19

Homer may have lived on an island off the coast of Sicily between 1100 and 1000 b.c.

Question 20

Both the Iliad and the Odyssey are composed with dialogue and an omniscient narrator.

Question 21

What is the final scene in the Iliad?

A) The Trojan Horse being dragged inside the city of Troy
B) The battle for the city ensuing after the deception of the Trojan Horse
C) Hector's funeral
D) Hector's death

Question 22

The most prevalent tradition locates Homer's career

A) in Athens, fifth century b.c.
B) on an island off the coast of Sicily, between 1100 and 1000 b.c.
C) on an island off the coast of Asia Minor, between 800 and 700 b.c.
D) in Macedonia during the ninth century b.c.

Question 23

Achilles undergoes a rite of passage just like other heroes, but for him it is an internal journey.

Question 24

Achilles refuses to eat because

A) he doesn't have time to eat before the battle starts.
B) he is too sad to be hungry.
C) since he is half divine, he doesn't eat human food.
D) he is too enraged at the death of Patroclus to think of food.

Question 25

The Greeks, who represent family values, have abandoned their own families to go to war, while the transgressors of family values, the Trojans, are depicted as ideal models of family love.

Question 26

Achilles's dual destinies show that fate is not predetermined but conditional.

Question 27

The two urns from which Zeus doles out gifts are the image of the human condition: some people receive exclusively from the urn of happiness, and some only from the urn of unhappiness; most receive half from each.

Question 28

Both the Iliad and the Odyssey contain formal literary conventions. Which one is not such a convention?

A) The proem
B) Fixed epithets and epic similes
C) The semidivinity of the hero
D) The sparagmos of the hero

Question 29

What is an "Achilles's heel"?

A) A point of vulnerability
B) A hero gone bad, like Achilles
C) A secret weapon: the Greek athlete's kick
D) Another word for winged sandals

Question 30

Educated speculation might advance several possible causes for the Trojan War. Which of the following should not be on the list?

A) Migrations and/or invasions by the Dorians
B) Feud over a dynastic marriage
C) Population pressures in Greece
D) Athenian expansionist policies

Question 31

Why must the Trojans lose the war?

A) Because Zeus has sided with the Greeks from the beginning
B) Because the Trojans have broken the rules of courtesy, the sanctity of the family, and the guest-host relationship
C) Because the Trojans, having loving family relationships, are essentially effeminate compared to the extreme masculinity of the Greeks
D) Because humans have no free will; everything has been predetermined since the dawn of time

Question 32

Who is Patroclus?

A) The brother of Hector
B) The close friend of Achilles
C) The son of Peleus and Thetis
D) The husband of Andromache

Question 33

Andromache wants Hector to fight gloriously in order to become the greatest hero.

Question 34

Hector is rewarded by the gods because he is pious.

Question 35

Which of these goddesses did not take part in the quarrel over the golden apple?

A) Athene
B) Artemis
C) Aphrodite
D) Hera

Question 36

If a hero cannot acknowledge his anima,

A) he can't come to terms with the feminine side of himself.
B) he can't come to terms with the masculine side of himself.
C) he can't come to terms with the idea of imminent death.
D) he can't come to terms with the concept of an immortal soul.

Question 37

Andromache urged Hector to fight by

A) reminding him that she and Astyanax were depending on him.
B) reminding him that he was the city's strongest defense.
C) reminding him that he would be shamed among his fellows if he did not fight.
D) Trick question: She did not urge him to fight.